| ![Show Contents]() Wintour History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
Etymology of WintourWhat does the name Wintour mean? The origins of the Wintour surname date back to the time of the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. It comes from an early member of the family who was a person born in the wintertime having derived from the Old English word wintar, meaning wet season. 1 Early Origins of the Wintour familyThe surname Wintour was first found in Gloucestershire. "The natural seasons gave personal names in the same way. ' Summer and Winter are both ancient names; in the Cod. Dip. Alamannioe there are two brothers called respectively Sumar and Winter, A.D. 858. Winter was also the name of one of the companions of Hereward the Saxon. 'Although a pre - Norman personal name, Winter survived the Conquest, and attained hereditary honours as a surname in the 13th cent. " 2 Another source postulates "most probably the Old English personal name Wintra (A.D. 699) and Uuintra (A.D. 704), associated in the popular mind with Old English winter, 'winter'. " 3 And another notes "Winter was the name of one of the companions of the Anglo-Saxon Hereward, and Winter and Sommer are both German and modern Danish names. " 4 The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 listed Wynter Mariot in Norfolk and Gelle Winter in Cambridgeshire, so as you can see the name was in use as both a forename and surname from very early times. 2 Further to the north in Scotland, "Elsi, son of Winter, had a grant of the lands of Thirlstane from Hugh de Morville before 1162. Jop Wyntyr was a charter witness at Yester in 1374. " 3 Early History of the Wintour familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wintour research. Another 179 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1162, 1379, 1447, 1452, 1474, 1487, 1488, 1494, 1572, 1589, 1600, 1603, 1606, 1622, 1642, 1645, 1646, 1658, 1661, 1665, 1666, 1668, 1671, 1673, 1686 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Wintour History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Wintour Spelling VariationsThe first dictionaries that appeared in the last few hundred years did much to standardize the English language. Before that time, spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. The language was changing, incorporating pieces of other languages, and the spelling of names changed with it. Wintour has been spelled many different ways, including Winter, Winters, Wynter and others. Early Notables of the Wintour familyNotables of the family at this time include - Thomas Winter or Wintour (1572-1606), an English conspirator, the younger brother of Robert Winter of Huddington, Worcestershire. "They were descended from Wintor, the castellan of Carnarvon, their na...
Migration of the Wintour family to IrelandSome of the Wintour family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 50 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
| Wintour migration to the United States | + |
Thousands of English families in this era began to emigrate the New World in search of land and freedom from religious and political persecution. Although the passage was expensive and the ships were dark, crowded, and unsafe, those who made the voyage safely were rewarded with opportunities unavailable to them in their homeland. Research into passenger and immigration lists has revealed some of the very first Wintours to arrive in North America:
Wintour Settlers in United States in the 17th Century- Mr. Edward Wintour, (d. 1637), who left England and arrived in Maryland in 1634 aboard the ship "Ark and Dove" 5
- Mr. Frederick Wintour, (d. 1637), who left England and arrived in Maryland in 1634 aboard the ship "Ark and Dove" 5
- Robert Wintour, who landed in Maryland in 1637 5
| Contemporary Notables of the name Wintour (post 1700) | + |
- Dame Anna Wintour CH DBE (b. 1949), British-American media executive, editor-in-chief of Vogue since 1988, global chief content officer of Condé Nast since 2020, recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2024
- David M. Wintour (1944-2022), English bass guitarist and session musician, member of The Wurzels from 1995 to 2002
- Captain Charles John Wintour (1871-1916), British Royal Navy officer who was killed in action at the Battle of Jutland in 1916, eponym of Mount Wintour, Alberta, Canada
- Major-General Fitzgerald Wintour CB CBE (1860-1949), British military officer who served in the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment and the Royal Norfolk Regiment, grandfather of Dame Anna Wintour and Patrick Wintour
- Patrick Wintour (b. 1954), British journalist and the diplomatic editor of The Guardian, son of Charles Wintour
- Charles Vere Wintour CBE (1917-1999), British newspaper editor, editor-in-chief of the London Evening Standard, father of Anna and Patrick Wintour
- John Crawford Wintour (1825-1882), Scottish landscape-painter, born in Wright's Houses, Edinburgh; an exhibition of nearly 150 of his pictures and drawings was held in Edinburgh in 1888 6
- Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
- Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
- Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
- Charnock, Richard, Stephen, Ludus Patronymicus of The Etymology of Curious Surnames. London: Trubner & Co., 60 Paternoster Row, 1868. Print.
- Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
- Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 5 Feb. 2019
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